Smoke on the Water
by Leishy
Summary: Ever wonder why Gambit didn't join in the battle against Apocalypse? Just a thought I had.


Disclaimer: Marvel owns it, I just write about it. No suing me.  
  
Smoke on the Water  
  
The stars were always visible out here, not like in the city where light pollution made them disappear, almost like they were never there to begin with. The calm peaceful sounds of the bayou adding to the ambiance, almost made the lone young man forget the worries that plagued his troubled mind.  
  
He remembered the day when the stars were nearly lost forever, the day the sky grew dark and the stars were replaced with what looked like a meteor shower. It wasn't until later that he found out they weren't meteor's, but rather falling satellites. All around him people had panicked, not having any clue what was going on, but he knew, he knew exactly what was going on. The battle had begun; Apocalypse was putting his ultimate plan into action. People were going to be hurt, some may even die, people he knew, some he had even begun to care about, and he did nothing.  
  
Staring out at mist rising off the calm still waters of the swamp with burning crimson eyes, the mutant known as Gambit felt an emotion rise up in him that he had not felt since he was a small child getting caught doing what he shouldn't have been doing.  
  
He was ashamed.  
  
He knew he should have made contact with those at the Xavier Institute once he heard about the strange happening at the various pyramids around the world. He should have offered to help with the battle; Lord knew he had the strength and skills to aid in the taking down of Apocalypse and his horsemen. He knew what was at stake, the fate of all humanity.  
  
He did nothing.  
  
Taking out a cigarette and lighting in with the tip of his finger, his mind wandered to those he did not help; were they all right? Did they all make it out alive? Did Rogue make it out alive?  
  
He gave his head a shake at the last thought, this kind of thought was going to bring up a whole slew of even more damning thoughts. He said he'd look out for her. He didn't. He was a man that prided himself on being able to keep his word, no matter what. That in itself was his main reason for putting up with Magneto for so damn long. So why had he not kept his word to her?  
  
'You damn well know why LeBeau' he thought to himself. 'You had the resources to get to any one of those places, and you didn't. You know exactly why.' He most certainly did, there was no need to answer himself.  
  
He was afraid.  
  
Death was something he'd never looked forward to, despite many of his actions as an Acolyte saying otherwise. The very fact that this battle could very well have been his last scared him like nothing ever had before. This wasn't some tussle with the X-Men, or even a scrape with the Brotherhood, those he could handle without breaking a sweat. No, this was something that he could not bring himself to do. This was the real thing, an all out battle for all mankind. Nothing in the world was going to prepare him for a fight like that.  
  
One would think he'd be ready to fight for his life; he'd been doing it for years with Julien and the other Rippers. No, it wasn't fighting for his life that was his real concern. It was something else, something he didn't think he'd be capable of doing. Fighting for his own life, sure, no problem. Fighting for those he cared about, in a heartbeat. So what is it then?  
  
What if he failed?  
  
What if he went, fought, and wasn't able to keep those he cared about safe? What if they died because he turned his back or he slipped up somehow? What if there really was no way to take down a force like Apocalypse? What if....  
  
"Remy? Where ya at boy?" his father called out for him. Sighing, Remy got up from his spot at stretched. The mist had gotten so thick it looked like smoke, like the water was on fire. He threw his cigarette butt into the water, watching it disappear. He knew that he had to make amends for turning his back on those who needed help.  
  
"Remy! C'mon boy! Dere's work at be done, we ain't got all night!"  
  
Someday, he would make things right.  
  
AN: Okay, this was my first attempt at a fanfic, so I hope it doesn't suck too badly. I haven't seen any of the fourth season of Evo, but have read countless summaries and reviews of it, so I hope I didn't get anything wrong. I was originally thinking of making Gambit into an insensitive bastard, since he kinda comes off that way in the show. But instead I decided to make him into a chicken-shit.......like that's so much better ( So, anyhoo, leave a review if you're of a mind, I'd like to know if I'm any good at this.  
  
~Leishy 


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